Crocheting with Edel: Old Rose Chunky Crochet Sweater

I’ve always wanted to learn how to crochet. I got busy with adult life and the responsibilities that came with it but the urge to crochet was always there. One weekend, I finally had the time to buy crochet supplies and ask Mame to teach me how to do the basic stitches. She would work on a particular stitch and then I would imitate it until I get the hang of it. I also watched crochet tutorial videos on You Tube and that was when I found out the name of each stitch and technique that Mame taught me.

They say crocheting is not for everyone and I have to agree with that. It requires money, time, good eye sight, focus, discipline, and looooooots of patience. I may not have a sufficient supply of the other requirements, but I can say I have enough patience. I can be very patient when working with my hands to create something beautiful and functional. Crocheting allows me to do just that and more!

Crocheting is therapeutic for me. It relaxes me and makes me productive at the same time. I crochet two to five hours max on a normal day (or night). I get tired after each crocheting sesh, alright, but the sense of fulfillment I feel always makes me forget about my tired eyes, sore hands, aching back, and exhausted body. It’s something that enough rest can relieve easily, anyway.

You can see my first crochet project here. Now, this old rose chunky sweater is my second one. While googling crochet-related blogs to find some inspiration, I happened to come across All About Ami’s easy chunky crochet sweater. Back-reading Ms. Stephanie’s blogs about her past crochet and knit projects, I found myself admiring most, if not all, of her creations. I have high respect for this woman who makes beautiful things out of yarns and needles. She’s really good at what she does!

So, back to Ms. Stephanie’s lovely sweater, I learned that it’s the perfect project for beginners like me. The pattern she used was from Lion Brand and it’s given out to crafters for free. I didn’t have to download it, though, because she had a sort of tutorial on the blog complete with nice photos of the process. And because the sweater is made using single crochets only with cool ribbing texture because of the back loop technique, I thought I could do it, too!

always start small

Basically, it’s a big rectangle of single crochets folded the right way and stitched up on both sides for the sleeve openings. I just took note of the measurements and made some adjustments to fit my size. For this sweater, the size of the rectangle is 36″ x 30″ and the sleeve openings are 8″ each. I used a 5mm hook (US 8) for this because that’s the largest hook I have.

the crochet rectangle

After completing the rectangle, I folded it where the vertical lines go. Then, I worked on the sleeve openings on both sides.

the sleeve openings

the sweater without the collar yet

I even had the guts to follow Ms. Stephanie’s own collar pattern (thank you for sharing it with your readers!) that involves slip stitches (sl st), single crochets (sc), double crochets (dc), front post double crochets (fpdc), and back post double crochets (bpdc). Nung medyo nalilito na ako sa pagsunod sa collar pattern, nag-google at nag-YouTube na lang ako. Ayun, awa ng Diyos, nakuha ko naman ang itsura, hahaha. The width of my collar, by the way, is 3″ only and I used a smaller hook (4 mm or US 6) for it.

close-up of the collar

the finished product!

The old rose acrylic yarn I used for this project is by Red Heart. It’s soft but not too soft. It also has a beautiful sheen to it which makes it look quite elegant when worn. I used around 4 and 1/8 skeins for this sweater. I first bought three skeins from a shop along Tabora St. in Divisoria and when I ran out of yarn but didn’t wanna go back to Divi due to the unbelievably heavy traffic and high volume of shoppers there (this being the Christmas season), I just purchased two more skeins from Gantsilyo Guru’s physical shop in Pasig after learning about them online.

It took me three weeks to finish this project. I crocheted on weeknights and weekends during my free time. I felt more inspired and energized to go on as I saw the sweater taking shape. It’s definitely a labor of love. Mame, the hubby, and the rest of my family were also very supportive of me. Kaya naman ganado talaga ako na tapusin ‘to.

I love, love this sweater! It fits me just fine. Medyo kailangan ko lang magpapayat talaga para mas bumagay sakin, hahaha. I really like the ribbing produced by stitching only on the back loops. The collar is also very nice, don’t you think? I’m so proud of myself for seeing this project through.

trying on my sweater

Unlike Ms. Stephanie’s sweater, though, I didn’t encounter a “bum-bunching” issue with my sweater. It doesn’t bunch in the back which is how it’s supposed to be. It must be because the yarn I used wasn’t too soft and my stitches were tight enough. Or perhaps, the length of my sweater is shorter? Whatever the reason is, I’m happy and satisfied on how it turned out.